In the United States, with popular far-right groups bearing names such as the Proud Boys, the Aryan Brotherhood, and the Boogaloo Boys, it is easy to assume these are men’s movements. This can be explained in part by the distinctively patriarchal and anti-feminist ideology of the far-right, but also due to society’s proclivity to write-off or not recognise the roles of women in movements and history.

This study is aimed at balancing the noteworthy imbalance of data on the motivating factors of women relative to men in the present-day American far-right. It will do so by measuring and exploring far-right women’s motivations for engagement on the same scales as their male counterparts. By conducting semi-structured interviews and applying a comparative methodology to measure and assess the motivational factors driving both American men and women to participate in FRSM activism, this dissertation will contribute significantly to filling the scholarly gaps in knowledge pertaining to the gendered differences motivating FRSM activism in the United States today. This data will then be triangulated with findings derived from a thorough review of the existing relevant literature and research as well as semi-structured interviews conducted with experts on the American far-right – including researchers and practitioners, journalists and media experts, and law enforcement. Through the words of the activists themselves, this project will help to demonstrate to researchers and practitioners how and why men and women choose to participate in the American far-right social movement today.